The Howling Leopard
by Fifi.Brown
Summary: The Thundercats continue their search for the next Stone of Power and come upon a town with an unusual wolf problem. But who is this mysterious Leopard girl that runs with the pack? And will she be the one to heal the broken heart of certain Lion king?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes** : Hey guys this new fanfic has been nagging at the back of my mind for some time now, I've still to finish the next chapters of my two Wander Over Yonder fanfictions but I could hardly wait to get started on this one. This story takes place right after the end of season one of the 2011 Thundercats series; I just recently re-watched this show that I bought on blu-ray and I'm still really disappointed that it was cancelled!:( It had so much potential and left audiences so unfulfilled. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this story, leave a comment and have a great day!:D

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A month has passed since the Thundercats left the city of Avista to continue their search for the next Stone of Power; they travelled in the Feliner with the Book of Omens guiding the way across Third Earth. But even after finding new vigour for the journey, the emotional wounds left behind by Pumyra's betrayal had not been forgotten by Lion-O and he would often be found deep in his own thoughts with a melancholy expression on his face. His companions tried their best to get him to talk about how he was feeling but he would just brush off their concerns or change the subject, but one day when they had landed to rest and make camp Tygra decided to really put his foot down. He managed to catch Lion-O alone while he was collecting firewood to confront him.

"Okay Lion-O we need to talk and no more dodging the issue"

"Huh? What issue?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Ever since we left Avista you've been acting really distant with everyone. I want to know why!"

"Look Tygra, I've just had a lot on my mind lately! And sometimes I just like to keep to myself! So what's the problem!?"

"The problem is that we're all worried about you but you won't say anything!"

"Well maybe this is something I have to just deal with on my own! So get off my back!"

Lion-O turned to storm off back to camp but was stopped by Tygra running in front of him with his arms out to block the way.

"You can't just keep running away from this! I won't let you keep avoiding the problem!"

"Get out of my way Tygra" Lion-O growled warningly.

"Not until you start talking" Tygra growled back.

They stood at a standstill growling at one another, but just before things could escalate further they were interrupted by a familiar female voice calling out.

"THAT'S ENOUGH YOU TWO!"

They were then greeted by Cheetara running up and pushing the brothers away from one another. She then turned to Tygra and said,

"Tygra I know you're only trying to help but this isn't the right way of handling the problem"

"Well how else am I going to get him to explain what's going on, cause honestly this whole depression thing he's got going is not going to help us in the slightest" protested Tygra.

"Whoever said I was depressed!? What have I got to be sad about!? We survived Mumm-Ra's last attack and the animals are starting to unite against him, everything seems just fine to me!" Lion-O then once again tried to storm away back to camp.

"Is this about Pumyra?" asked Cheetara.

This made the young king immediately stop dead in his tracks but did not look back which only confirmed her suspicions.

"I figured that was it"

"I know it's pathetic, I shouldn't let it get to me, but… but I just can't stop thinking of how I didn't see it! How I let myself fall for her like a complete idiot!" Lion-O said sombrely while still keeping his back to Tygra and Cheetara.

Hearing the pain and hurt in his voice made Tygra's heart ache and he tried a more supportive approach.

"Lion-O, it's not just you, she tricked all of us, and none of us saw it coming. She hurt you really bad we all see that, but trust me when I say that she's not worth thinking about and don't let any of she said get to you. And to tell you the truth, I never really saw her being good girlfriend material for you anyway, she was always so serious. Next time you should find a girl who's more, you know, fun" he suggested trying to lift his brother's spirits.

"*sigh* I get what you're saying Tygra, but I don't plan on letting myself fall into that trap a third time. From now on I'm only going to focus on our mission, no more unnecessary distractions"

"Lion-O you shouldn't let what happened stop you from finding someone special in your life" Cheetara protested.

"I've made up my mind Cheetara, from now on the only thing that matters to me is finding the last Stone of Power and defeating Mumm-Ra" and with that final statement he headed straight back to camp. Tygra and Cheetara watched him go then turned to each other concernedly.

"What are we going to do about this Cheetara?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure Tygra, I'd hate to think that this whole experience might have damaged his trust in others. But maybe it's best for now we give him some space and perhaps letting him focus on other things will give him some time to think it over."

"I sure hope you're right"

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The next day they took off again following the direction the Book of Omens was indicating. Kit and Kat were looking out the side window at the view below them, Tygra was flying at the pilot seat with cheetara at his side, Panthro was tinkering with one of his mechanical arms and Lion-O was once again sitting alone staring out the other window lost in his thoughts. His train of thought was interrupted when Snarf came up and mewled at him worriedly.

"Hey bud, you worried about me too? Well don't be, I'm fine really, I'll get over this in no time, you'll see" Lion-O assured Snarf petting him gently. Snarf wasn't fully convinced but nuzzled into Lion-O's paw in a gesture he hoped would say he was always there for him.

"Hey guys! You might want to come look at this" called Cheetara.

Everyone came over to look and to their complete surprise, the Book of Omens was pointing in two different directions! There was the first arrow they were originally following pointing directly forwards but now there was a new arrow pointing 90 degrees west from it. This had never occurred before and none of the Thundercats knew what to make of it.

"It's pointing two ways!? What does this mean!?" asked Panthro.

"Could it just be a glitch? Have you tried switching it off and on again?" suggested WilyKat.

"I seriously doubt the Legendary Book of Omens has an off switch Kat" replied Tygra before giving said book a light tap to check but nothing changed.

"You don't suppose there's another stone out there we don't know about?" asked Cheetara.

"There couldn't be, when I entered the book and I saw into the past there was only the four: the War stone, the Spirit stone, the Tech stone and the Soul Stone. But I suppose it could be possible that there might be another stone that just hasn't been discovered yet." Lion-O replied.

"So what do we do? Should we go check it out? If it turns out to be a false lead we'll have wasted time chasing after nothing!" argued Panthro.

"But if it does turn out to be another undiscovered stone it could give us a great advantage over Mumm-Ra" replied Cheetara.

"I say we leave up to the King to decide. What do you think we should do Lion-O? Should we keep heading in the forward? Or do you want to see what's in the other direction?" asked Tygra.

Lion-O thought about it for moment weighing the options carefully before asking "is there any way to tell which one is closer to us?"

"Yeah I think so…here it is! According to this the first stone we were heading for is about 2000 miles from our location, but this new one is only 10 miles away" replied Tygra.

"Okay then here's what I suggest, we'll go check out this new direction, see what we can find and if anyone's living out there we'll ask around about any powerful stones in the area. But if by the end of the day there's nothing there then we head straight back on course at full speed, no detours even if the book wants us to. That sound like a plan?" announced Lion-O.

"Sounds like one to me!" Wilykit replied cheerfully.

"Let's go for it!" said Wilykat excitedly.

"You're the boss" said Tygra while turning the ship.

"Still kinda feels like a goose chase, but I'll trust my King's judgement" said Panthro.

"And so will I" agreed Cheetara putting a reassuring paw on Lion-O's shoulder.

"Sshnaaarff!" mewled Snarf in agreement.

"Alright then, Thundercats Ho!" Lion-O declared.

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 **End Notes** : And that's the first chapter, as you can tell it's a little shorter than most of the fanfic chapters I do, but I guess you can just consider this a kind of introduction. I've already made a plan on how the story progress's and ends so it shouldn't take too long for the next chapter to come out. As always you guys have an awesome day!:D


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note** : Quick head's up on this new chapter it's going to be pretty heavy on dialogue and exposition. Here I wanted to expand the world a bit and introduce part of the main conflict while still keeping things interesting enough to want to know more. Anyways hope you guys enjoy this and have an awesome day!:D

It had been an hour since the Thundercats started following The Book of Omens new direction and everyone was still pondering what could it be leading them to? Was it a new undiscovered Stone of Power? Perhaps something that would give them an advantage over Mumm-Ra? Or perhaps it really was just a glitch? No one wanted to believe that the great book of legend that was treasured and protected by their ancestors would actually glitch out and lead them on a false trail, but as they continued forward with no clue of what they were heading towards it made them sceptical. Still, the book continued to point forwards without any sign of letting up so they too remained steadfast in the hope that wherever they were going would yield some benefit.

"Hey look! Down there! It looks like a town!" exclaimed Wilykat excitedly pointing downwards.

Everyone turned to where he was pointing and sure enough there was a town coming up on the horizon and just beyond it was a huge forest that seemed to stretch for miles.

"Looks like we're in luck, if there is a magic stone around here then maybe someone in that town might know about it. Take us down Tygra" said Lion-O in higher spirits.

Tygra landed the Feliner in a sheltered area half a mile from the town out of sight from any opportunistic tech thieves. When they arrived at the strange new town they decided to split up into groups to ask around and agreed to meet back at the entrance by sundown with any info they found from locals. Panthro and Cheetara went off together, Wilykit, Kat and Snarf scampered off and Tygra and Lion-O paired up to investigate, but as they went around they began to notice something odd. They were no strangers to some scrutiny, the Thundercat's previous prejudice towards other races had not been forgotten and would require a lot of time and patience to forgive, however in this town they were met with a surprisingly high amount of suspicion and in some cases hostility.

"Excuse me sir, I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, we've come looking for-"

"OH I KNOW YOU'RE A CAT! AND YOU'RE NOT STEALING ANYTHING FROM ME! NOW BEAT IT!" yelled a particularly grumpy old merchant waving his cane angrily.

"Steal?! No, no we're not going to steal from you! We just want-!"

"I SAID BEAT IT CATS!"

Needless to say the old merchant's outburst at him and Tygra was causing a scene so they moved on without another word.

"Geez! What the heck was his problem!? And what's with everyone giving us dirty looks?" asked Tygra.

"Don't worry about it Tygra, some people just aren't as trusting of strangers, we'll ask someone else. Let's just hope the others are having better luck" replied Lion-O.

Unfortunately the others weren't having any luck either and were met with just as much backlash from the townsfolk, however they did notice some unusual things being said such as:

"CLEAR OFF! You and the rest of your wolf friends aren't welcome here!"

"Come to steal more from my pantry have you!? Well you're too late! That leopard and her pack cleared me out last night!"

"That leopard friend of yours broke my arm when I caught her stealing my chickens!"

"Those wolves and that howling leopard are a bunch of menaces!"

It seemed that the townsfolk thought they were in league with some mysterious leopard girl and some wolves that had been pillaging from food stores and pantries all over town. With no chance of getting a civil response from the locals the Thundercats reconvened early at the town entrance to discuss what to do.

"Every person we talk to just yells at us and accuses us of being thieves!" exclaimed Wilykit annoyed with Snarf mewling in agreement.

"How are we going to get any information if they won't hear us out?" asked Cheetara.

"We need to find someone higher up, someone who'll be able to convince the rest of the town that we're not here to cause trouble" replied Lion-O.

"Well the sooner we do that the better, I for one am getting sick of trying to walk down these streets without getting my face bombarded with stones and rotten fruit" grumbled Panthro.

"I think I heard about there being a mayor who runs this town, from what I hear he sounds like a reasonable guy" suggested Tygra.

"Then let's go meet this mayor and get this mess straightened out" replied Lion-O.

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It took some time and some negotiating with stubborn locals but eventually they managed to find their way to the town hall in hopes of meeting the mayor. The building itself was remarkably grand made from white marble, above the entrance was a round plate with the town insignia of a sword and shovel crossed over each other and out front was a statue of a noble-looking gopher man holding a flag triumphantly. Upon entering the lobby they were met once again with vicious glares and people whispering comments such as, 'what're savages like them doing here?' and 'someone ought to call the authorities before something happens!'; still they kept their heads held high and paid them no mind.

Once they approached the receptionist desk she gave them a quick dagger-eyed glance and continued filing forms around her as if no one was there.

"Ahem, excuse me miss, I am Lion-O and we are the Thundercats, I was hoping if we could have a word with the mayor if it's not too much trouble" asked Lion-O politely.

The receptionist did not look up from her paperwork but answered disinterested, "actually it is. The mayor's busy right now. But even if he weren't he wouldn't talk you brutes. Now leave before I call security".

Her apathetic reply resulted in a low angry growl from most of the Thundercats; Lion-O was about to attempt to reason with her before anyone could lose their temper, but was beaten to the punch by another unfamiliar voice coming from a side staircase.

"As a matter of fact, I would like to speak with them!"

They all turned to find a portly yet tough looking Gopher man walking towards them. He wore a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up his burly arms and brown worn trousers with black suspenders over each of his broad shoulders, he looked more like a farmhand than a mayor and would've probably been mistaken for one if it weren't for the gold chain and amulet round his neck with the town insignia engraved on it. He was only a foot shorter than Lion-O but he made up for in sheer thickness and looked strong enough to take on Panthro in a fist fight; but despite his gruff exterior there was an underlying softness about him like a strict-yet-incredibly-loving father figure. Even so, seeing her boss appear so suddenly made the receptionist's face turn pale in shock.

"Uh-uh Mayor Gophertan!? I-I didn't- this isn't…I'M SO SORRY!" she exclaimed panicking bowing her head in shame.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing too, there is no need for that kind of rude behaviour! As the receptionist, you're the first face people see when they enter here, therefore making a good first impression to visitors, ESPECIALLY out of town visitors, is an absolute must. Do you understand?" scolded the Mayor.

"Y-yes sir! It'll never happen again I promise!" she replied before turning to the Thundercats, bowing her head and deeply apologizing.

"Now then, Lion-O was it? Let's head on upstairs where we can talk privately" suggested the Mayor leading the way.

The Thundercats followed him up the stairs into a large impressive office, on one side was a huge bookshelf full of information about the town and its history. On another side was a fireplace with a portrait of the mayor and his very big family above and in the middle of the room were three plush couches and one matching armchair around a coffee table. The mayor sat down on the armchair and gestured for the cats to sit with him, once everyone was comfortable he turned to Lion-O.

"Alright now, first things first I just want to apologise for the behaviour of not just my receptionist but of the rest my people! When I heard earlier that some strange cats had arrived in town today I had a feeling the welcome would be less than friendly, and for that I am truly sorry" said the Mayor sincerely.

"Oh that's quite alright sir, we've gotten used to people having their doubts and misgivings about us" replied Lion-O.

"Even so, there's no excuse for everyone to treat visitors this way regardless of species"

"But why are they acting that way? We only just arrived here and we're not here to cause trouble!" added Wilykit.

"And I believe you little one, unfortunately due to recent 'incidents' it's gotten everyone else in town on edge" replied the mayor worriedly.

"These incidents wouldn't happen to involve some wolves and a Leopard girl would it?" asked Cheetara.

"Ah yes, I guess you've heard, in the past year the wolves of the neighbouring forest have been raiding and stealing from folks all over town!"

"Then why don't you just fight them off, drive them away from your town?" asked Panthro, this resulted in the Mayor letting out a chuckle much to everyone's confusion.

"You folks really are new to these parts, first of all the wolves here are incredibly big, strong and vicious when angered, and heck some of the teenagers are as big as you!" he said pointing at Panthro "even if we tried to attack them they'd wipe the floor with us before most likely eating us all"

"Woah, eating you!? That's pretty extreme!" exclaimed Lion-O shocked while Snarf ran and hid under one of the couches in fear.

"Maybe so, but considering the situation I wouldn't be surprised. But it wasn't always like this, we used to have a very peaceful relationship with the wolves thanks to our peace agreement, which is the other reason why we don't attack them" explained the Mayor.

"Peace agreement?"

"Yup, you see this town was founded by my Great Grandfather Gopherfield, he and his family originally came from a farming village but were attacked by bandits and forced to flee. It was a time when a lot of wars were going on so they and many other refugees had to keep moving, it was Gopherfield who lead the desperate people to this place. Here they found rich fertile soil for farming, clean running water from rivers and a huge forest filled with all the lumber, food and materials they needed, and best of all it was far away from all the fighting. But it didn't take long before they soon discovered that they weren't alone here, the woods were occupied by the Wolf Tribe and they were not happy about having trespassers on their land. My Great Grandfather was the one to earn the respect of their leader and together they came up with the Peace Agreement. The people of this town are allowed to take wood, food and other necessities from their forest only at certain times of the year, within a reasonable amount and are not to venture too far into their territory and in return we would share our knowledge and any valuable materials with them such as any useful tools, weaponry or technology. Since then we've maintained a pretty stable trade with them" the Mayor explained with a sense of pride at his ancestry.

"That's an amazing story sir, but then what's changed? Why are the wolves suddenly acting out now?" asked Tygra.

"Unfortunately I don't know for certain, even though we were at peace with them the wolves are very secretive, they don't like sharing any private information about their pack or their territory to outsiders. One thing that is for certain, they are desperate and hungry, and no one wants to get on the bad side of a hungry and desperate wolf".

"Then there must be some kind of food shortage going within the forest, but then why don't they just trade their stuff for food from the markets?" asked Lion-O.

"I'm afraid that's due to the merchant's greediness, you see when they realised that the wolves were buying up more of their food stocks they raised the prices and started demanding they pay with actual money instead of trading items like they always had. The wolves don't have the same currency system as us so when they couldn't pay or trade for the food, they resorted to thievery; and it's not just from shops they've been breaking into homes and raiding pantries all over. Thankfully they haven't seriously injured or killed anyone yet, and believe me if they wanted to they would if anyone got in their way".

"What about that Leopard we've heard so much about? Is she really associated with the wolves?" asked Tygra.

"More than that, she's part of their pack. Quite a mystery that girl, many years ago the wolf leader and his mate came here with her as a baby and were going around asking if anyone had seen her parents or if there were any other cats in the area. No one recognised her, some people round here had never even seen a cat before and ever since then she's been one of them." Explained the Mayor.

"They raised her since she was a baby? No wonder she thinks she's one of them, she's probably never met another cat before either" said Cheetara.

"Indeed, and it's clear to me that you all aren't involved with them. With all that's been happening the people here are very frustrated and paranoid, so seeing you they just assumed that you were allies with her, but not to worry I'll make sure to announce to everyone tomorrow that you are my guests here and to treat you as such."

"Thank you Mayor, that'll make things a whole lot easier, you see we really just came here to look for something. You wouldn't happen to know of any magical stone around here, or something of that nature?" asked Lion-O.

"A magic stone huh?" the Mayor looked concerned for a moment as he pondered over this question.

Noticing this Lion-O spoke up, "you see sir, we need to find these stones in order to stop Mumm-Ra, and we need to find them before he does or it'll be impossible to stop him!"

"Mumm-Ra!? I thought he was just a myth!" exclaimed the Mayor in fear.

"I'm afraid he's all too real, and we need any help we can get to stop him" said Panthro gravely.

"Indeed you will! Well I'm sorry to say you won't find any magic stone here in this town" replied the Mayor.

"Awww man! Does this mean we've been running around this grumpy town for nothing!?" exclaimed Wilykat.

"Not necessarily my boy, there may not be anything magical HERE, but you just may find what you're looking for out THERE" he replied pointing straight out one of the windows at the wolves forest.

"WHISKERS!" they all said in unison.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Once again to all followers of this story, sorry for the long wait. Got a bit slowed up with the usual work and/or writer's block business, but here it is and I hope you all enjoy it!:D

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"So you're telling me that what we're looking for is in the forest!? The forest where those dangerous wolves live!? Are you serious!?" exclaimed Tygra in disbelief.

"Well yes and no, you see like I said before the wolves are very secretive, so they wouldn't tell me or anyone here directly about any magic they have. However back when things were peaceful and they came to our town regularly, I would often overhear them talk about some secret power their leader possesses, supposedly it has something to do with the staff he always carries with him." Explained the Mayor.

The Thundercats looked to each other, unsure of what to make of this information. They knew going into that forest was risky considering all the frightening things they had heard about the wolves, but if there really was some kind of magic there then they couldn't just ignore it should it fall into the clutches of Mumm-Ra.

"I understand this is going to take some time and planning before taking action, but in the meantime why don't you all come over to my home. We also have a guest house so if you're all going to be here for a while you can stay there if you'd like" the Mayor offered kindly.

"That's so generous of you sir! Are you sure it's alright? I'd hate for us to impose" replied Lion-O.

"Nonsense! It's no trouble at all! My family loves having guests over and besides with the way things are now I highly doubt you'll have much luck finding a hotel in town that'll let you in"

"Good point, thank you very much Mayor Gophertan" said Lion-O.

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That evening the Mayor escorted them back to his home paying no mind to the worried and confused looks his guests were attracting. Once they had arrived the Thundercats took a moment to stop and stare in amazement at the immense grandeur of his home, it was a huge three storey mansion with beautiful flower gardens splayed out front. Gophertan then led them round to the guest house which while not as large and impressive as his own home still had an elegantly cosy vibe to it.

"Whelp, here's the guest house, five bedrooms with two single beds in each, two bathrooms one upstairs and one down, a fully prepped kitchen and a big ol' living room for relaxation."

"Again sir, this is incredibly generous of you!" said Lion-O happily.

"Indeed, despite our previous encounters this is definitely the kindest welcome we've had, thank you" agreed Cheetara.

"Only the best for my guests! Now then I'll let you all get settled in, it'll be a while until dinner is ready, I'll have a maid come and let you know when food's ready and I'm sure you all need time to discuss what your plans are regarding the…um 'forest magic'" said Gophertan before heading into his home.

This last statement snapped the Thundercats out of their initial wonderment over their surroundings and back to the task at hand. Once they entered the guest house they all sat together in the living room to talk about their next move, and Tygra was the first to jump in.

"Well I think it's pretty safe to assume that going into the woods is out of the question" he said.

"Wha-!? Tygra, if those wolves have a magic stone then-!" protested Lion-O.

"That's just it Lion-O, Gophertan only heard about the supposed magic from overhearing wolves talking, for all we know it could be a load of nonsense!"

"But Tygra, just because it sounds vague doesn't mean we shouldn't look into it. The Book of Omens sent us here for a reason, this might just be what we're looking for, and so wouldn't it be worth the risk!?"

"That all depends on who's taking the risk!"

Cheetara then stepped in "alright, cool down the pair of you! Now listen, you both have good points, there could be real magic out there in the forest that we need to find before Mumm-Ra does, but there's also the problem of the wolves. So let's think about what we already know, Gophertan said that his Great Grandfather earned the respect of the wolves right? So perhaps we could do the same?" she suggested.

"We'll ask him about that at dinner, but I'm still concerned as to how we'll go about getting close to them" said Panthro.

"Well you can count us out of going near those things! I don't know about the rest of you but I don't really like the idea of going up to someone who might try to eat us!" exclaimed Wilykit.

"You said it Kit!" replied Wilykat with Snarf meowing in agreement.

"Relax you three, you can hang back here in town when we meet the wolves" said Lion-O

"You mean IF, we meet them. What do you think is going to happen when we see them? That we'll all sit down and have a nice little chit chat?" said Tygra bluntly.

"Come on Tygra, don't you think you're being a little prejudice here? So far everything we've heard about the wolves has been totally one-sided, there's always two sides to a conflict. What we need here is someone on the inside to explain things from their point of view; surely one of them will listen to reason after all they were at peace with the townsfolk before all this trouble started" explained Lion-O.

"What about that Leopard girl? Maybe we can talk to her?" asked Wilykit.

Lion-O couldn't deny that the prospect of meeting this mysterious leopard had peeked his interest in more ways than one, and it didn't go unnoticed by Tygra who gave him a knowing smirk.

"I'm afraid there's still a problem with that Kit, we don't know anything about her apart from that she's lived among wolves her whole life. She might be just as dangerous as the rest of them!" replied Cheetara.

"So what're we gonna do!? We can't just go waltzing onto their turf without a plan!" said Panthro impatiently.

There was a moment of silence as everyone struggled to think of something, just then Lion-O perked up with inspiration "hey how about this, instead of us going to them, we wait for them to come to us. The next time they raid the town, we catch one of them and get them to explain their situation to us".

"Catch one of them!? That's even more insane than your first plan!" exclaimed Tygra in disbelief.

"I know it sounds crazy Tygra but what other plan do we have? In the forest they'll have the home-field advantage, but if we wait for them to enter the town we may have a shot!"

"But Lion-O, won't that just make them angry? Mr. Gophertan said to never get on the wrong side of a hungry wolf!" aksed Wilykat.

"I know Kat, but anything we decide to do will still be dangerous and have just as many risks, so unless anyone else has a better idea I say we bite the bullet and go for it" replied Lion-O turning to the others. At first no one said anything, they were at a loss for ideas, despite their best efforts they just couldn't of a better or safer plan of action.

Tygra then gave a defeated sigh "Okay Lion-O, we'll go along with this idea of yours, but first we'll need to have a plan on how to go about doing it. We'll need to ask the mayor on how often do the wolves raid the town, where they might target next and what kind of weakness's they have. Hopefully we'll have some time to come up with something before-".

 _ **CRASH!**_

" **WOOOLVVES!"**

Within seconds everyone was on their feet running outside to find a gang of wolves and the leopard girl running from the Mayor's storage cellar!

"No time for planning now! Looks like we're winging it! THUNDERCATS HO!" yelled Lion-O unsheathing his sword in pursuit with the others following.

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Just as Gophertan described them the wolves were of great size, but one thing the Thundercats hadn't been prepared for was their immense speed and coordination. Anytime it looked like they were about to catch up, they would suddenly dart in another direction, they couldn't even get a proper glimpse of them they were so quick. Even Cheetara, the fastest cat among them couldn't predict their movements!

'Damn! These wolves are insanely agile despite their size! I bet they'd even give Jaga and his clerics a hard time if they were here!' she thought in frustration as a wolf she was tailing rushed out of sight again.

Despite their best efforts, chasing them was proving to be a lost cause and it didn't help that all the commotion was causing a town panic. Once the alarm had been sounded the people on the streets began running around looking to hide, protect their pantries and or grab a weapon to fight back.

"Lion-O! This isn't working! They're too fast! We can't catch them!" yelled out Tygra running behind Lion-O.

"Okay new plan! Cheetara, see if you can get ahead of them and cut them off! Try and drive them into the courtyard! Tyrga, Panthro follow me!" Lion-O ordered before running down a side street with his comrades close behind.

"I'm on it!" replied Cheetara before sprinting ahead in a flash of yellow light. She speeded her way through alleyways and over rooftops avoiding the wolve's line of sight and managed to jump ahead of them. Not expecting their path to be blocked they doubled back before being cut off again, not realising what they were running into, they ran in whatever direction was open to them. Once in the courtyard they finally realised their mistake, all other ways had been barricaded with junk, rubble and anything else the three cats had been able to find to block their escape.

Now that the wolves had stopped running, the Thundercats were able to get a better look at their cornered quarry. They wore primitive styled armour decorated in feathers, beads and shells and was mostly in differing shades of brown while the wolves themselves were mostly grey. The stuff they had stolen was strapped to their backs in huge bundles making them looked hunchbacked even when standing upright. Despite their seemingly hopeless situation they didn't show fear or worry, in fact they never ceased baring their razor sharp fangs or growling at the cats around them. Even the Leopard girl that was with them showed no alarm in their position and growled furiously at her supposed enemy.

At first Lion-O had no idea of what to make of this beautiful yet bizarre young woman among the wolves. She had jet black hair that went past her shoulders with a single tuft tied to the side with a blue and pink bead; she wore a brown red trimmed fitted vest top with a matching skirt that had a blue, green and orange diamond design stitched to the front, over this she wore armour made from machine parts. Her sandy gold fur was speckled with the famous black spots starting from the top of her face, down her back ending halfway down her arms and legs and all along her long fluffy tail. But what really caught Lion-O's attention about her were her bright blue eyes that despite being within an angered frown were the most enchanting part about her, he was so transfixed on looking into her eyes that he didn't realise at first that someone had spoken up until she looked away from him.

"Hey Lion-O, what now!?" called Panthro.

"Huh? Oh right! Alright wolves, there's no running away from here, just drop what you stole and let's talk about this peacefully!" he requested as respectfully as possible.

Unfortunately this did not pacify them, they only growled louder showing no backing down and made a slight move in his direction as if getting ready to pounce. Lion-O did not waver either, he got into a battle stance, extended his sword and said while the Eye of Thundera glowed with a threating red light.

"I don't want to fight you if I can avoid it. But if you don't back off I'll have no choice but to make you!"

The red light from the sword had a surprisingly quick effect on the wolves and Leopard, almost immediately they had gone from being full-on aggressive to shocked surprise, some of them had even dropped their bags at the sight of the glowing sword. At first they didn't say anything, they looked to each other in concern, one of them whispered something to the Leopard girl and she whispered something back too quiet for anyone else to hear.

"HEY! What're you wolves whispering about!? Are you surrendering or not?!" yelled out Panthro.

They paid him no mind as he hadn't said anything at all, they just whispered something else, nodded to each other in agreement over something and turned back to Lion-O.

"Well? What's your-"

The leopard girl stepped forward her face unreadable and took a long breath in. None of them were prepared for what she did next.

" **AAAAAARRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

She was howling! A leaoprd girl only half the size of the wolves that began howling alongside her, was howling like she really was one of them!

"What are they doing!?" called out Tygra over the noise.

"I don't know! Maybe they're giving up!?" replied Lion-O.

Once their howling chorus had ended and all was quiet again, the Leopard girl upfront pointed to Lion-O, looked him in the eye and said.

"You're coming with us"

Before anyone could react, a lone wolf had jumped down from the roof behind Lion-O and struck the back of his head. His whole world turned black as he fell.

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End Note: Admittedly not a whole lot happened in this chapter and was again pretty dialogue heavy. At this point in the story I didn't know whether or not to continue onwards or leave it at that, in the end I felt that ending the chapter here would keep things interesting (even though I've always hated cliff-hangers LOL). But not to worry I've already made a start on the next chapter so it shouldn't be as long until we get the next part, hope you all enjoyed reading and an awesome day!:D


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Once again super sorry for this chapter taking so long. The reason for this is partly because for this one I wanted to make this chapter longer than the others which obviously meant it would take longer to be put out, but also cause of the usual writer's block. Anyways I think it's pretty unlikely that there'll be a new chapter before the end of this year, so I hope you all have a fun Halloween, a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

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"THEY TOOK LION-O!?" exclaimed an incredibly freaked out Wilykit.

"But why!? What do they want with him!? You don't think they're gonna eat him do you!?" asked and equally worried Wilykat, all the while Snarf was running frantic circles yowling in sheer panic.

"Will you three calm down already! Ugh! My head's killin' me after last night!" growled a very sore and grumpy Panthro.

Tygra and Cheetara grumbled in agreement still feeling sore after the events of last night. The wolf that had struck Lion-O unconscious grabbed him, slung him over his shoulder and quickly climbed back up the wall he jumped from. The Thundercats didn't even have time to react before more wolves arrived on the scene from the rooftops; despite their best efforts to fight them off and run after their stolen king they were swiftly overwhelmed and beaten down by the wolf horde. When the wolves finally retreated back to their forest they left the three Thundercats injured and knocked out but still alive, thankfully it didn't take long for the townsfolk to arrive and take them to get patched up. It was morning when they finally awoke and needless to say they were not in the best of shape both physically and emotionally.

"Awwww man! I can't believe we got our butts handed to us by a bunch of savages!" groaned Tygra angrily.

"Yeah they really got us good. But I still don't get why they didn't just kill us back there?" asked Cheetara.

"Because wolves do not kill without purpose" said Mayor Gophertan who had just entered the house looking fairly bedraggled himself.

"Mr. Mayor! Are you alright?" asked Wilykit.

"*sigh* I've been better little one" he replied gently tousling her hair before slumping down on one of the armchairs, "things have gotten crazy around here since last night! The town's in an absolute panic!"

"Sir, what did you mean before about the wolves not killing without purpose?" asked Cheetara.

"It's exactly as I said, the wolves don't go around killing anything and everything willy-nilly. They may be secretive but that's one fact about them that they were absolutely adamant about, they are not wasteful nor greedy and have a lot of respect for all life in general. So unless they intended to eat you, they would most definitely have killed you back there." He explained.

"But why take Lion-O?! What do they want with him?" asked Wilykat.

"I'm afraid I have no clue, they've never done anything like this before. Plus this is the third raid this week! They don't usually come as frequently as this! Did any of you say or do anything that might have set them off?" he asked.

"Come to think of it, they started acting really odd as soon as Lion-O put up his sword and made the Eye of Thundera glow, only as a threat mind you. But still, once they saw that red light they acted like…I don't know, very surprised, they weren't afraid of it, in fact some of them looked excited! Almost as if they had realised something or maybe that they recognised something" replied Cheetara in deep thought.

"Recognised!? But we've never been here before, how could they recognise something they've never seen!?" protested Panthro.

"It's just how it looked to me. Anyway, once they saw that light they stopped acting aggressive, then they started whispering something to each other, I couldn't make out what they were saying but they were definitely discussing something to do with Lion-O and his sword" continued Cheetara.

"And I still can't believe what happened next! That leopard girl started howling! Like full-on wolf howling!" exclaimed Tygra in amazement.

"I still don't know whether or not I find that amazing or just down right weird" said Panthro.

"Anyway, after they all stopped howling she pointed at Lion-O and said 'you're coming with us', then he gets knocked out and carried off somewhere and we get beaten within an inch of our lives! And that's pretty much how it went down" explained Tygra.

"I see, so something about Lion-O and his sword got their attention? *Sigh* it still doesn't add up, and I'm already having a heck of a hard time pacifying the townsfolk. They all want to know if they or their families will be abducted like your king, and I'm honestly not sure what to tell them! I swear the only positive thing to come out of this situation is that their now convinced that you all are not in league with the wolves!" exclaimed the now very stressed Mayor.

"Don't worry Mayor Gophertan, we'll get to the bottom of this whole mess and make those wolves give us some answers, I promise" declared Tygra.

"I sure hope so Tygra. With the situation escalating and the wolf raids becoming more numerous, it's getting harder and harder to tell the people that there's nothing to worry about. Oh! How I wish my Great Grandfather had told us what he did to earn the wolves respect! Maybe then we could get through to them" grumbled Gophertan somberly.

"Wait a minute, you mean to say that you don't know how he did it back then?" asked Panthro surprised.

"I'm afraid so, all I know is that as part of the peace agreement he made with the wolves he wasn't supposed to divulge any secret information about them to anyone. Boy, those wolves really were, and still are, very determined to keep to themselves at all costs" replied Gophertan.

"Well who knows, maybe their customs might have changed since then and Lion-O will find a way to earn their trust and get them to open up to us?" suggested Wilykit enthusiastically.

Mayor Gophertan couldn't help but smile at the young Thundercat's optimism, "maybe he will little one, who knows. Guess we'll just have to have faith that he come through till then" he said warmly while gently tousling her hair once again.

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The first sensation Lion-O's mind registered when he finally regained consciousness was an incredibly severe thumping pain at the back of his head. He tried opening his eyes but was met with more pain and complete darkness, for a moment he feared that he had gone blind before realising with relief that he had been blindfolded. He then tried to move his arms to lift himself up only to find that both his wrists and ankles had been bound, so using his core muscles he managed to shimmy himself up but immediately regretted it. Now that he was upright his head start spinning from the change in position, the pain was now a stinging throb hammering at the back of skull and he felt like he might throw up. No matter how hard he tried to focus and will himself to stay still, the nauseous and light-headedness wouldn't let up and he couldn't keep himself from falling forwards; only to be caught in someone's arms.

"Woah there! Take it easy! Boy that was a close one" said an unfamiliar woman's voice.

"W-who's there?" asked Lion-O trying to remain calm and not focus too much on the softness of the stranger's fur on his own.

"Ssshhh just relax, you've nothing to fear here, we won't hurt you" she replied calmly gently rubbing his back.

Lion-O could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks at being in this position, held in the arms of a mysterious soft-spoken woman with his heart pounding against his chest.

"Um, uh…excuse me, miss, what exactly is going on? Where am I?" he asked nervously.

"Well before I answer that, how 'bout I take off that blindfold, honestly I still think it wasn't necessary but whatever" she replied before reaching up to untie said blindfold from Lion-O.

Once it was removed it took a couple of minutes of squinting and adjusting to the sudden light before Lion-O was able to focus on his surroundings. He appeared to be in some kind of primitive lodge, there was a stone hearth in the centre of the room where a small fire glowed, the walls were decorated with various decorations such as painted animal skulls, tribal masks with several facial expressions and a few dream catchers. There were no windows and it seemed to be all just a single square room and he was sitting upon a bed covered in soft animal pelts at the side wall opposite the door. He now saw that the kind woman with whom he had been talking to was the Leopard girl from last night.

"That feel better?" she asked

"Y-yes much better, ahem so uh, where am I?"

"Well right now you're in one of the spare lodges in our village. I guess you're also wondering why we brought you here huh?" she replied looking a little embarrassed.

"Kind of yes! What are they going to do to me!?" asked a now very anxious Lion-O.

"Hey chill out! Listen, I can't tell you what's going to happen, because to be honest I have no idea. But I can definitely tell you what's **not** going to happen, we're not going to kill you, so just relax" she replied trying to be as reassuring as possible, but with very little success.

"Wait a minute, so you all just kidnapped me for no reason!?" exclaimed Lion-O becoming increasingly frustrated which unfortunately wasn't helping his aching head and he ended up scrunching up in pain.

"Hey! Hey! Easy there, don't over exert yourself! I'm sorry about last night I really am, the one who hit you was one of my best friends and he has a bit of a habit of over doing things. Just hold still a minute" she then reached over to a bowl full of ice and water on a side table, dipped a cloth in it before wrapping some of the ice within it before coming back over to Lion-O.

"This might sting a bit at first but it should reduce the swelling and help with the pain" she said calmly before pressing the cold bundle against the back of his head where he was struck. Just as she said it stung sharply for a few agonizing seconds as he grit his teeth through the pain, before letting out a relieved sigh when the throbbing finally dulled down. With his head no longer pounding he could finally relax and think more clearly about his situation as he listed off what he now knew: he was within the wolf's territory, inside their village, they took him for some unknown reason and not even this, surprisingly attractive Leopard knew why.

He scolded himself mentally for that last thought, ' _come on Lion-O, don't start doing that again, remember to focus on the real reason you came here!_ '

"Uh thank you miss, that feels a lot better"

"Glad to hear that, I do apologize for how rough we we've treated you so far especially for my friend hitting you but please try to not hold it against him. Oh, and my name's Leila by the way, what's yours?" she asked.

"My name's Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, it's really nice to meet you Leila" he replied blushing. Before she could reply there was a loud banging on the lodge door and an even louder grouchy voice called out.

"HEY! LEILA! Is he awake yet!? The chief and shaman elders want to talk to him!"

"He just woke up Malo! But I think he could still use another minute to-!"

"Just hurry up and bring him out already! I'm sick of waiting!" he yelled back before the sound of his retreating stomping footsteps told her there was no arguing over this.

She let out a defeated sigh and turned back to Lion-O, "that was my older brother Malo, he's not really known for his patience".

"It sure sounds like it"

"I'm real sorry, but I'm afraid you're going to have to get up now and come with me, I'll untie your ankles but you're going to have to cooperate with me, otherwise I can't guarantee you won't get whacked again, alright?" she explained calmly.

"I promise I won't give you any trouble and besides I was already hoping to get a chance to speak with all of you about what's been going on" he replied.

"That's fine, but a word of advice, do not speak unless you're spoken to. There a lot of angry wolves here, including my brother, that are very unhappy about an outsider being in our lands, so make sure to be as respectful as possible, got it?"

"Okay, got it"

She then went about untying the bindings on his ankles then helped him to his feet with only a slight stagger. She then led him outside where once again he was momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness, but once his eyes adjusted he took a moment to look around. The village was huge and built up the side of a snowy mountain, many of the buildings were made from wood tied with rope some of which had chimneys and porches; the whole village was surrounded by a wall made from logs that were sharpened at the top. They then made their way through the village with Leila holding onto Lion-O's arm as they went, just like the town he was met with angry glares from the resident wolves and few curious stares from the younger pups who were ushered away by their mothers. Outside most of their homes he saw workbenches for crafting weapons and other tools, fire pits for cooking, drying racks for meat and fish (of which there was very little) from this Lion-O deduced that the wolves were of a hunter-gatherer society. However as they went along he began to notice an air of melancholy about many of the wolves seemed very depressed and others looked downright defeated, he even saw a mother wolf trying to get her pups to eat what looked like an incredibly watery looking soup much to their dismay, overall the sight of them made his heart ache.

"Everybody here seems really…sad"

"Really? What gave it away?" Leila replied with a sad smile which quickly turned to a frown.

"*Sigh* we've been struggling for a long time with this famine, despite all our best efforts we can never seem to get enough for everybody. Perhaps this is the Great Spirit's way of teaching us to not take such bounty for granted?"

"And that's why you all have been raiding the town?"

Leila's ears drooped lower and she turned her head away sadly and replied, "Unfortunately yes. We're not happy about it, we've always been able to manage without resorting to such low tactics but right now we're desperate. My father Varick, the Chief and the elders will explain everything in more detail".

After walking up some stairs up the hill they came upon a huge cave in the side of the mountain, the entrance was decorated with large animal bones, feathered charms and ancient writing that continued inside. Lion-O could hear angry voices echoing from inside and as he and Leila continued onward through its gaping maw deep into the bowels of the stone crevice, he could gradually make out what was being said.

"For all we know he could be here to destroy us!"

"He's just one lone…uh…cat-thing what could he possibly do to us!?"

"Are you absolutely sure this is the sword you saw in the vision Varick!?"

"YES! For the hundredth time it's exactly like what I saw, I-… Oh Leila! There you are!"

They had now entered a large inner cavern where several older wolves sat around a large hearth in the centre of the room. The cavern walls were decorated pretty much the same way as outside except some of them had cave paintings of wolves in varying situations, some of them were battling large beasts, others were caring for the sick and wounded and some showed wolves leading the pack to somewhere. The wolf that called out to Leila looked ancient his fur was almost completely white, he wore an animal skin pelt over his back, several necklaces with fangs, claws and small horns from various creatures, a headdress made of feathers and horns that trailed down just past his shoulders. He carried a long wooden staff that was decorated with small carvings and a couple of feathers just above where he held it and right on top there was a large bulbous growth that looked like a flower bud. Despite his apparent age he carried himself upright with dignity as he walked round the circle of wolves towards Lion-O. He then stood there looking down at him with an inscrutable expression only his eyes moved taking in this red-haired stranger and as Lion-O looked back at him he couldn't help but feel an odd sense of nostalgia, something about this mighty wolf chief before him reminded him of his own father and how he held an air of authority that demanded respect from all those around him.

The silence was broken when he finally smiled and said, "So you're the one with the glowing sword, is that right?"

"Oh? Uh? Yes sir!" stammered Lion-O snapping out of his own thoughts.

"Tell us then, who are you? And what brings you to these lands?"

"My name is Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, my companions and I came to this place in search of something, a magic stone. I heard from the town's Mayor that there might be something like that here?" he replied.

There was a brief moment when the elders turned to each other worriedly and at him suspiciously, mumbling and whispering. At first the chief didn't say anything he just continued looking into Lion-O's eyes as if searching for something unseen. He then let out a sigh, gave him a sad smile and said.

"So Mayor Gophertan told you that did he? I assume you've also heard of the problems that have been going on lately? About how my people have been stealing from the town?"

"Yes I have sir"

"It's not something we're proud of, in fact it's a source of great shame to us. We are a proud and fierce race that has never needed to resort to such pathetic tactics, but with our situation being what it is, I can't see any other way around it. I guess you're still wondering as to why this is happening at all?"

"Yes sir"

"Varick, are you sure we should be telling him anything? Even if he is no threat to us, he is still an outsider" spoke up one of the elders concerned.

"I second that!" called out Malo angrily from the side of the room.

"Calm yourselves everyone, I understand your concern. But we are the ones who brought him here against his will, I think it's only fair we give him some explanation. And besides, I sense no evil intent from him, Leila you can untie his bounds now" he replied clamly.

She did as she was told and untied Lion-O's hands, he rubbed both his wrists for a moment before realising his sword and gauntlet weren't on his belt! Noticing his sudden alarm the chief assured Lion-O that his weapon is somewhere safe and that he will have it back as soon as things have been cleared up. Even though he still felt vulnerable without it, he remembered what Leila said about being respectful and thought it better not to argue. The chief then sat back down by the hearth and beckoned Lion-O over to sit beside him to which he complied with Leila following suit.

"Well now, I guess the best place to begin would be way back before this whole mess started: back then our forest was lush, plentiful and we were prosperous! It was partly because of the herds of migrating animals that came and went into our territory every year, there's a massive lake about a day's travel from here that we call The Ocean Lake, and every winter it completely freezes over. When this happens the previous herds travel across it for the spring pastures and new winter herds arrive from the other side, which means there was never a time of year when we didn't have a supply of prey to hunt. But then five years ago something strange happened, the old herds left but new ones didn't come. We waited all winter for them but by the time spring had come, the lake had thawed and there was no sign of them. Now after that first strange year we weren't too overly worried, we always made sure we had plenty of preserved food in storage in case of a lean season. But then it happened again for another four years! And now our food stores are almost completely empty" He explained.

"This had never happened before, sure we had some years when the herds were a little thinner than normal. But they ALWAYS came! If only we knew what was to come!" one of the elders stated with despair with the others nodding in agreement.

"And normally we would have been able to see it coming" added Varick.

"You would? But how?" asked Lion-O which made Leila snicker beside him adding to his confusion.

Varick also chuckled at this and explained "you said that you had come here looking for a magic stone correct? Well Lion-O look no further, for what you seek is right here" he then held the large end of the staff close to Lion-O and before he could question him the growth on the top end suddenly opened up to reveal a glowing yellow and orange stone in the shape of a wolf's eye nestled within!

"This is the Vision Stone, it has been passed down through countless generations of Wolf Tribe Chieftains. It has the power to show whomever wields it the past, present and possible futures. It has guided our people through many a hardship and saved us from destruction more times than I can remember" Varick explained with no shortage of pride in his voice.

"Until five years ago" Malo stated bitterly.

"*sigh* yes, for some unknown reason the stone just completely stopped working. It has been known to have a mind of its own and will occasionally refuse to show anything, but this has been the longest time ever recorded that the stone has remained dormant. That is, until a month ago it finally awoke and showed me a vision of a red-haired stranger wielding a magic sword and a red light shining from the hilt into the sky" he continued.

"So the stone showed you a vision of me? But why?" asked Lion-O.

"I'm afraid we're not entirely sure. Whenever the stone shows a vision that I can't figure out on my own I consult with the elders to try and make sense of it, some wolves believed that it was a bad omen but I'd like to think the stone showed me you as a sign of good things to come" replied Varick with a smile.

"I think it's already pretty clear what the stone was trying to tell you father!" Malo growled frustrated turning all eyes to him.

"He said it himself he came here looking for a magic stone. Obviously the vision was a warning about him trying to steal it! He's no better than the rest of those selfish gluttons in that filthy town who leech off our lands!" he growled louder glaring daggers right at Lion-O.

"No,no no! You've got it all wrong! I wasn't going to steal it from you! But there is a reason why we need it!" Lion-O protested.

"And what about US!? That stone has been a sacred treasure to this tribe for countless generations, we all depend on it!" argued one of the elders.

"That's right! Chief Varick I'm starting to think Malo's right, maybe bringing him here and telling him all this was a bad idea?!" said another.

"He's already seen and heard too much here, we ought to slit his throat now before-"

"ENOUGH!" the chief's loud bark echoed throughout the cave system bringing immediate silence to the room and everyone including Lion-O instinctively shrunk down averting eye contact in submission.

"Look at yourselves. You are all seriously getting your tails in a twist over an unarmed cat whose head doesn't even reach my chest! I already said I sensed no evil intent from him and for all these many years you all have trusted me and my judgement. If we let this panic take hold of us and we kill him now, we'll be no better off than we were before, in fact we may end up destroying the one hope we've got. So I'm asking you all to please to trust my judgment once more and give him a chance to explain" implored Varick.

"Forgive us Chief. We acted foolish and much too rashly" said one of the elders sombrely while keeping his head bowed in shame.

"Now then, Lion-O please explain to us why you need this stone so much" asked Varick turning back to Lion-O.

"You see sir, me and my companions have been searching for several stones of power for some time now, but we don't want them for ourselves I assure you. We need them in order to stop a terrible evil that threatens all of Third Earth, and if I don't get that stone that same evil will take it for himself" Lion-O explained with conviction.

The wolves still looked sceptical, especially Malo who asked grumpily "okay so what is this so called 'terrible evil' that you're talking about, what is so awful that you need to take our sacred stone for?!"

Lion-O replied deathly serious "Mumm-Ra".

This reply both shocked and confused the elders, but Malo was not convinced in fact he felt downright insulted, "Is that supposed to be some kind of JOKE!? Mumm-Ra is nothing more than a spooky ghost story we tell around campfires to scare children into behaving themselves!"

"I used to think so too! But I assure you he is all too real! I've faced him before! I swear this is true, I wouldn't make something like this up! In fact if you really want proof, Chief Varick you said that stone of yours can see into the past as well as the future right? Then use it to look into my past and you will see for yourself" pleaded Lion-O.

The chief considered this for a moment before replying "very well Lion-O, I'll use it to look into your past, although I feel I should warn you the stone may show me more than just the chosen memories. You understand?"

"That's fine sir, as long as it shows you the important ones, I'm okay with that"

The chief then held the staff between them, instructed Lion-O to take hold of it and not let go no matter what, once he complied Varick began to chant in an unknown language. In response the top of the staff opened up once again revealing the stone which began to pulse with a peculiar light that gradually became brighter and brighter until Lion-O had to use his free hand to shield his eyes from the blinding glare. Once the light disappeared and he was able to open his eyes again, they were no longer in the cave. He and the Chief were now standing together in Thundera! They were within the arena with the giant tree where Lion-O had lost the race for the bell to Tygra, however this was not the memory of that moment. All around them there were explosions going off, missiles were whizzing through the air, terrified cat civilians running in blind terror and armed lizards wreaking havoc, this was the memory of when the kingdom of Thundera fell!

A flash of lightning from above caught their attention, and they looked to find Claudaus fighting off Grune and rushing up the tree to rescue a chained up Panthro. Lion-O's heart sank when he realised what he was about to re-live seeing.

Once his chains were slashed down and he fell Panthro looked up and said "you came for me".

"I'd fight an army twice that size to save you old friend" replied Claudaus kneeling down to greet him before turning his back "now help me".

Every part of Lion-O's being wanted to run forward and yell a warning to his father, but he knew it was futile, this was only a memory and nothing would change that. As he saw his past-self make his way up the tree to join his father, he could only turn his head away as 'Panthro' pulled out a knife.

"FATHEEERRRR!" screamed the Past Lion-o as the killing blow was struck and the great Lion King fell into the water below and his sons followed after him.

"I'm so sorry Lion-O. I have no control over what memory the staff shows but-" said Varick sympathetically.

"It's not over yet, the worst is still to come" replied Lion-O as he and his past-self looked back up towards 'Panthro' with a look of pure hatred.

"You! A traitor too Panthro?!"

"Hehehe not quite. Have you not considered that if technology is real, then so are your worst nightmares!" sneered Panthro as his body was then engulfed in demonic blue flames, shedding his feline masquerade revealing his twisted true self.

As the clerics lead by Jaga charged forth to confront this ancient evil, he smirked wickedly down upon them

"You are but insects to the power of MUMM-RA! THE EVER-LIVING!" in a flash of evil energy he struck them all down apart from Jaga who was saved by Cheetara.

The Past Lion-O and Tygra were then surrounded by armed lizards with their weapons pointed straight at them.

"Thundera has fallen!" declared Mumm-Ra as the lizards cheered in victory.

"I've seen more than enough" stated Varick suddenly and the world around them faded away and Lion-O found himself waking up once again in the cave not even realising he had his eyes closed. The chief's knees then buckled beneath him and he fell forward, his breath laboured in exhaustion and both Malo and Leila were quickly by his side.

"Father! Are you alright?!" asked Malo worriedly.

"Calm down everyone, I'm fine. Been a long time since I needed to use that and I forgot how taxing it can be on the mind and body" he replied before catching his breath and his expression turning grave.

"But right now there's a bigger problem to contend with. He's real. Mumm-Ra is real!"

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 **End Note** : Hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter and have a great day, you guys are the best!:)


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note** : Hey guys, again I'm really, really, REALLY sorry for the incredibly long wait for an update I've been busy with the usual work, holiday stuff and the usual writer's block. For anyone who wants to know what the OC characters look like I've drawn some of them and submitted them to my Deviantart gallery: . I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter and I just want to thank you all for all the really sweet and supportive comments you've all given me about this story, you guys are awesome!:D

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"Mumm-Ra is real"

The seconds after Chief Varick said those three dreadful words seemed to stretch out for an eternity before the reality of the statement sunk in making everyone's blood run cold.

Malo was the first to finally speak up, "t-that!…That's not p-possible" he choked. With the shocked silence broken, the other elders started to panic.

"YOU'RE SERIOUS!? HE'S REAL!"

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

"OH GREAT SPIRITS! WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO!?"

"I say we fortify the village and be ready to defend our home!"

"Are you mad?! There's no way we'd be able to fight off that demon!"

"What if we migrated the tribe somewhere else!?"

"That's the same as surrendering and running away with our tails between our legs! I'd sooner die than abandon my homeland!"

"And what of the rest of the tribe? You think anyone, especially mothers with pups, would prefer to starve and/or be killed by a monster!?"

"EVERYONE! Calm down! We're going to figure this out!" boomed Varick's voice but did very little to ease the growing panic in the room.

"Father, if what you saw was real then we must be ready to protect our land!" exclaimed Malo determination burning in his eyes.

"We need to think this through very carefully Malo, we must assess all options before taking action. But first things first, I want you to go get Lion-O's sword and gauntlet and bring them here, and Leila I want you to escort him back to his companions, they're probably very concerned" said to each of his children.

"Wha!? But father he-" Malo began to protest but a firm stare and slight growl from his father told him it best not to argue.

"Chief Varick, if there's anything I can do to help you and your tribe in this difficult time then you can count on the Thundercat's support" said Lion-O with complete sincerity.

This resulted in the chief giving him a warm smile and placing his paw upon Lion-O's shoulder and replying "thank you very much Lion-O, I deeply appreciate that and I will keep it in mind. But in the meantime you'd best meet back up with your friends and let them know what's going on. Oh, and if you wouldn't mind just letting Mayor Gophertan know how sorry I am for the trouble we've caused".

"I'll tell him sir, and I'm sure he'll be understanding when I explain your predicament"

"I'll see him safely back father, you can count on me!" chirped Leila pridefully.

Malo then returned with The Sword of Omens and its gauntlet in his claws. He roughly shoved them into Lion-O's hands before giving him a cold glare and once Varick was out of earshot he quietly growled,

"If it were up to me I'd send you back in pieces! Now get out!"

"Malo! Will you stop it!?" Leila growled back but he paid her no mind and went to join his father and elders.

"*sigh* Come on Lion-O let's get going"

They then left the cave and began walking back down the steps towards the village.

"Sheesh! Is your brother always such a grouch?" asked Lion-O

"I'm really sorry about him, he wasn't always this bad-tempered but ever since things started going South around here, he's become more and more short-tempered every day. But to be honest I think the real reason for his frustration is because he's not yet Chief" Leila explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you see it is not just the current Chief who decides his or her successor, it is also the stone that decides. Just as my father told you the stone has a mind of its own and will not obey just anyone who holds the staff; at a certain point when the acting Chief becomes too old to lead they will choose a successor to take their place and wield the staff, but if the stone rejects them they will either have to choose someone else or keep leading until a later time. Sometimes the stone will act on its own and show the wielder a vision of whomever it sees as a better fit for Chief in the future; my father was going to retire being Chief years ago and hand it off to his son but the stone went into dormancy before he could. So needless to say my brother has been pretty moody since then" explained Leila.

"I see, though if I'm being honest, I can't really see him being great leader material, uh no offense" replied Lion-O.

"None taken and I agree, just make sure no one else hears you say that. Despite my brother's attitude he's still got a pretty tight following in the pack and they wouldn't take kindly to any badmouthing of Malo"

They continued their way through the village, Lion-O still getting some distrustful stares from passing wolfs as they went by. The silence was then broken by the high pitched sounds of wolf children running towards them.

"LEILA! LEILA! BIG SIS LEILAAA!" shouted one pup lunging right at the leopardess who caught him in her arms spinning much to his enjoyment. The rest of the pups were running in excited circles around her laughing and begging for attention. The sight was both endearing and intriguing to Lion-O, the pups were about the same height as Wilykit and Wilykat but they sounded much younger and they looked incredibly strong for such small youngsters; and the way Leila could pick them up and even throw them up in the air like they weighed nothing really made Lion-O wonder just how powerful she really was.

Just then another wolf came by and he was enormous! He had gigantic muscles covered in black and brown fur with a few scars dotted about and he looked to be about a foot or two taller than Panthro. But despite his fierce appearance he had an incredibly warm contagious smile that could make anyone feel at ease and want to smile back.

"Hey Leila! Sorry 'bout my little siblings jumping you again, I just couldn't keep them entertained long enough" he said with a hearty laugh.

He then turned to Lion-O and held out a huge paw to shake, "hey man my name's Kano, big brother to these little troublemakers and best friend to our lovely Leila here!"

"Nice to meet you Kano, I'm Lion-O Lord of the Thundercats and I'm guessing you're the friend of Leila's who hit me last night?" replied Lion-O taking the outstretched paw that then engulfed his entire hand and wrist in its grip.

Kano then let out an embarrassed laugh putting his other paw behind his head nervously "Yyyeeeaaahh, I'm really sorry about that dude. Sometimes I don't know my own strength and I get carried away, you aren't still hurting are ya?"

"Physically still sore, but otherwise I'm fine, no hard feelings"

Just then one of the excited pups came up to Lion-O eyes full of curiousity and just stared for a moment, then turned to Leila and then back to Lion-O.

"Hey, aren't you that cat person big brother brought home last night?"

"Hehe yup that's me" replied Lion-O who couldn't help chuckling at the youngsters phrasing.

"How come you and big sis Leila lookalike?"

This question did not go unnoticed by Leila who stilled at that moment and Kano began to look nervously between her and his little sibling. Noticing this sudden tension in their demeanour Lion-O tried to play it off casually.

"Uh, well I don't think we're that much alike, I mean-", but before he could get another word in another one of the pups chimed in.

"But Leila looks way more like you than she does to everyone else in the pack so what-"

"Alright that's enough! Don't be so rude!" Kano growled suddenly trying to put an end to the conversation before it got any more awkward, "big sis can't play with you all right now, she was in the middle of something just now, right Leila?"

Snapping out of her discomfort Leila replied with a weak smile "huh? Oh, yeah, I was just taking Lion-O back to his friends".

"Oh! Oh! I wanna come too!"

"Can we come with you to see his friends!? Can we!?"

"Yeah Big Sis can we!? Pleeeaaasse!?" begged all the pups bouncing with excitement.

But Kano stepped in and told them firmly that if they came along they wouldn't get two feet without getting bored and start hassling them to play again. He sent them off back home to help their mother with chores much to their grumbling dismay but they didn't argue too much before waving goodbye and heading home. Kano then offered to tag along with them in case of trouble which Leila gladly accepted mainly for the comfort of having a familiar face after such an uncomfortable moment. Lion-O wasn't entirely sure what it was that made Leila's mood change so suddenly but he had a suspicion that it had something to do with what that wolf pup had said to him.

Once they past the village gates and into the forest Lion-O could immediately tell there was something very wrong with those woods. It was the middle of Summer but rather than having lush bright green leaves the vegetation looked a sickly greyish colour, and instead of standing up firm with the vigour of life it was flopped over and sagging. It was as if the forest itself was weeping in despair as it was dying. The air was saturated with a strange chemical smell upon it, an unfamiliar scent that Lion-O couldn't quite place but knew that it just didn't belong in this world that should have been rich with the fragrance of flowers, earth and wildlife. However that was another oddity to this forest, there seemed to be no sign of any animal activity anywhere, even if he couldn't see them he should have at least hear something stirring. But there was nothing. Absolute nothing, no bird songs, no rustling of tiny creatures in the undergrowth, even the wind fell silent upon this miserable place.

'Geez, no wonder the wolves are so desperate! There really is nothing to find here. I've got to find a way to help them, stone or no stone I won't leave them to suffer' Lion-O thought with sympathy and resolve.

The three of them continued trekking through the miserable forest in relative silence, until Leila stopped suddenly, held up her hand to halt them.

Lion-O started to ask what was wrong but didn't manage to get a word in before Leila speeded off into the undergrowth brandishing a knife in her hand.

"I guess she must have spotted some prey nearby" said Kano before turning to Lion-O with a serious expression.

"Listen, since we got a moment alone I need to talk to you Lion-O"

"Sure, I actually wanted to ask you something too"

"I'm guessing it has to do with what happened earlier with what one of my little siblings said, am I right?"

Lion-o just nodded in response and Kano just sighed before continuing.

"I thought as much, we're both on the same page then. First off we're all fully aware that Leila's not a wolf but a cat, we're not stupid, and I'm pretty sure Leila knows herself that she's not like everyone else. I don't know if she's blissfully ignorant or in deep denial about it, but whenever anyone points out her differences she becomes very moody and sometimes even very defensive. The Chief has made very clear to everyone not to make a big deal about it and to treat her the same as any other wolf, but as you've seen sometimes the little ones don't always remember that" Kano explained.

"Okay I think I get it, but why keep up the charade? Don't you think it's a little unfair to her to let her keep living a lie? I mean how did she even become part of-?" Lion-O started to ask but stopped when Kano began to give a warning growl.

"Now look here Lion-O, you seem like a good guy, trust me I can usually tell instantly if someone's cool or not. But the point I'm trying to make here, and the one thing I want to ask of you, that I'm going ask you nicely just this once so you'd better not forget it is this. Please don't do anything to upset her about her identity! I know how it must seem, like we're all just messing with her; but I assure you, almost everyone sees her as a staple part of this pack and none of them want her to feel like she doesn't belong with us. It would break her heart" Kano implored with pure sincerity in his eyes, Lion-O couldn't bring himself to argue when it was apparent how sensitive this topic was so he nodded and replied.

"Okay I won't say anything to her, wolf or otherwise she's part of your pack"

Kano smiled gratefully "Thanks Lion-O I appreciate it, and who knows, maybe if she spent some time with you and your other cat friends she may come to accept the truth on her own. She does seem to have taken quite a 'liking' to you" he gave Lion-O a suggestive wink while nudging him with his elbow before Leila reappeared carrying an incredibly skinny looking dead animal over her shoulder.

"Phew! For a malnourished little guy, he sure gave me one heck of a chase!" panted Leila triumphantly.

The three of them continued onward and by the time the scents and sounds of civilisation were upon the wind the sun was descending casting deep purple shadows and soft orange light through the forest canopy.

"Well I think this is as far as me and Kano should go, don't want to get spotted by angry townsfolk. Just keep heading that way and you'll be back to town in no time" said Leila pointing in the intended direction.

"Alright thanks again Leila, Kano. Um, when will I hear from you- I mean hear from your father again?" asked Lion-O with a slight blush.

"It's hard to say, I'm sure my Father trusts you, but he'll need the full consent of the pack and the elders before he can negotiate some kind of plan with you. But when he does, I'll be the first one to let you know" replied Leila also blushing.

As Leila and Kano turned back towards their village, Kano turned his head back and gave Lion-O a knowing look and nod before running back. Now on his own the young lion made his way back to the town and hoped his friends wouldn't be too worried.

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"WAIT! Please Sir Tygra! You're in no condition to go venturing off into those woods! The wolves will kill you for sure!" pleaded an incredibly concerned Mayor Gopherton trying desperately to hold back said tiger.

"I can't just sit around anymore! I'm not waiting another minute to find out he's okay or not!" growled Tygra frustrated unfazed by the old mayors protests.

"The mayor's right Tygra! Remember last night, they completely outnumbered and overpowered us and we weren't even injured then!" protested Cheetara.

"They only got us because they had the element of surprise! If I use my invisibility I'll have an edge against them"

"I'm afraid that won't be enough. Even if they can't see you, the wolves have an incredible sense of smell and hearing, they'll no know you're there before you have a chance of fighting back" argued Gopherton.

"Well what else are we to do!? It's been a whole day and still there's no word from him!" argued Tygra becoming increasingly frustrated by his inability for action. Just then they saw a large crowd forming further up the street towards the forest entrance and more townsfolk rushing towards them.

Panthro then called to a passerby "Hey! What's going on up there!?"

"Someone said it's your Lion friend! He's alive!" he replied excitedly.

At this all the Thundercats and the Mayor rushed forward to see for themselves and sure enough walking through the crowd of curious onlookers was Lion-O alive, well and desperately trying to reassure the concerned townsfolk of his condition. Wilykit and Kat were the first to weave through the crowd to get to him.

"Lion-O! You're okay!" exclaimed Wilykit giving her king a tight hug round his waist.

"Wow Lion-O! How did you get away from the wolves without a scratch!?" asked Wilykat excitedly.

"That's exactly what we wanna know too!" said Panthro after making it through the excited throng.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE BACK IT UP ALREADY!" Mayor Gopherton suddenly bellowed instantly silencing the chattering crowd and turning everyone's attention to him.

"I know you're all very excited and curious about our guest's well-being especially after what he's been through, but right now I think it best to give him some space to recover and talk with his companions" said the Mayor attempting to calm them down.

"But what of those vicious wolves!?"

"Yeah can you at least tell us what those beasts are planning!?"

"Are those savages going to attack again soon?!"

To hear the townspeople calling the wolves such cruel names and assuming the worst of them especially after just witnessing for himself the struggle and misery they're in, Lion-O couldn't help but feel resentful of their ignorance. Before he had a chance to argue a response back to them the Mayor once again told the people to go home for now and that all their questions will be answered tomorrow, he then escorted Lion-O and the others back to his home. Once there Lion-O explained to Gopherton all he had learned of the wolves' situation and why they took him in the first place.

"So it's just as I suspected, with the herds of prey missing and the plant life failing, it's no wonder they turned their attention towards our town. And now with the possible threat of Mumm-Ra they're going to be even more desperate" said the Mayor gravely with no shortage of sympathy in his voice.

"Hold on so let me get this straight, the wolf leader saw a vision of you and now they think you're supposed to be the key to fixing this problem of theirs?" asked Tygra sceptically.

"Well yes and no, their leader Varick believes that, but most of the others are pretty distrustful and think the opposite like seeing me was a bad omen" replied Lion-O.

"So what should we do? How are we gonna help them?" asked Wilykit.

"Woah! Hold on a sec! Look I'm all for heroics and all that but is this really our problem to solve? You did make it clear that if we don't get that stone of theirs then Mumm-Ra will come and take it for himself right!?" protested Panthro.

"I'm with Panthro on this one Lion-O, it doesn't sound like you really tried hard enough to convince them of this impending danger!" added Tygra.

"Look it's not that simple, they were already angry enough at having a stranger in their territory, some were even talking about killing me because I had seen and heard too much! And besides we can't just take it from them, it's something sacred to their tribe, I mean just think about it, if some stranger we just met came up to me and said he needed to take the sword of Omens for some vague purpose, you think I would just hand it over without question?" reasoned Lion-O.

"Well uh…I guess you've got a point there" conceded Tygra.

"Okay so what do we do now? Are we seriously just going to sit around and wait for them to come around!? I don't know about the rest of you but I don't feel all that jazzed about doing nothing while Mumm-Ra could be right on our tails!" growled Panthro frustrated.

"Calm down Panthro, we don't know for sure if Mumm-Ra even knows about this stone yet, and if so this could give us a real advantage the next time we have to face him. And look, I don't like having to wait around either but at this point there's really nothing else we can do; but hey if any of you want to go marching into the woods and start making demands be my guest but I seriously doubt you'd get very far convincing them before they dig their fangs into you" said Lion-O dryly, no one else could think to argue after that, and so begrudgingly everyone agreed to wait it out and hope to hear back from the wolves soon.

That night while everyone else in the guest house was fast asleep, Lion-O was still awake mind-reeling pondering over the day's events and about what may come next, 'how long will it be until the chief and the elders come to a decision? If they decide not to trust us with the stone, what then? I don't want to have to resort to stealing it!? We've got enough enemies as it is! And…Leila, what's her story? Does she really believe she's one of them? She is really is something else! Ugghh! Come on Lion-O don't get distracted with that again! Focus on the stone and our mission, how are we going to earn their trust enough to convince them to give us the stone?'

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Meanwhile back at the wolf village Leila, also unable to sleep was lying on top of one of the village houses looking up at the stars lost in her own thoughts.

'*sigh* Father and the elders still haven't come to a decision! I want to believe that the stone showing us Lion-O was a good sign, but how do I convince everyone else that we can trust him and his companions? I mean I know tradition dictates that we keep to our own and to not allow outsiders into our territory but if we don't put aside our old ways we may not last for much longer! I don't want to revert back to stealing from the town, we could end up going to war with them and no one has the strength for that. Oh great spirits above what'll we do?!'

Sighing frustrated she sat up and was about to make her way off the roof when a very faint but instantly recognisable scent drifted passed freezing her on the spot. Leila lifted her well-trained nose to the air taking in as much of the scent as physically possible while desperately hoping that her nose wasn't deceiving her 'if that scent is what I think it is, then there may be hope for us yet, still I've got to make sure for certain'. She then jumped down and started sprinting towards the source of the smell and to what she prayed would be the one thing to get the Thundercats in the pack's good graces.

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 **End Note:** Phew! Finally after almost an entire year this story's finally been updated. I can't guarantee that the next chapter will come sooner, but one way or another this story will be completed (eventually). Anyways hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter and let me know what you think, but most of all have an awesome day!:D


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